Although impact assessment has been established a long time, there is widespread agreement that the current process is in practice unsatisfactory, weak and ineffective.

A single integrated, standardised process will help to give impact assessment the focus it needs to be adopted by ministries.

The Ministry of Justice efforts to draw attention to consideration of alternatives to regulation need support and further development, including and not least as part of an enhanced impact assessment process.

Achievements with the regulatory burden reduction programme have already been considerable by international standards, and the Netherlands’ 2003-07 policy identified the main elements of a successful model which has been replicated elsewhere.

A new phase has opened up, with the establishment of an ambitious, broad and well-designed new policy.

There are considerable and possibly unexploited synergies between the citizen programme and the business burden reduction programme.

Consciousness of the importance of EU origin regulations in shaping the national regulatory environment is high, and the Netherlands are active participants in the development of EU level Better Regulation strategies.

Well structured processes are in place for the negotiation and transposition of EU regulations.

The framework is more effective in securing a sound procedural performance than in addressing issues of substance arising from EU regulations.